Raising Boys & Girls

This week on the podcast—y’all—we have one of the people who has been at the top of our hopes list for YEARS. Maybe even a decade. If you’re not familiar with Kelly Corrigan’s work, please buy one—or all—of her books right now! Tell Me More, Glitter and Glue, The Middle Place, Lift, and a children’s book called Hello World. Huffington Post called Kelly the “poet laureate of the ordinary”. Not only...

What a tremendous honor it is to introduce you to two people we love and respect dearly, Kendra and John Allen. Kendra and John are two of the wisest, most thoughtful people and parents we know, who also happen to both be therapists. We’re so grateful to share with you this important conversation about infertility, loss, adolescence, and all of the things in between. . . . . . David's book Wild Th...

We have been hearing about our new friend, Sara Hagerty for quite some time from so many friends we love and trust, and we finally got to meet and have a conversation with her just a few weeks ago. Okay…we’re gonna throw out just a few of her book titles for you: Every Bitter Thing is Sweet, Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things; Unseen, The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Not...

We are seriously losing our minds over this podcast episode. Dr. Michael Gurian has been one of our go-to sources for boys and girls and development as long as we’ve been in practice. We were thrilled to get to meet him over zoom and he was every bit as wise and thoughtful and wonderful as we imagined. We can’t wait for you to listen in on this episode as he talks about so many helpful things…boys...

What do you think the teenagers in your life need? We’re talking about that very thing this week…and it just might surprise you! Hint: they do still need YOU, even when they don’t act like it! In case you missed Stage One through Three, the episodes are linked below. Episode 133: Stage One: The Early Years - Who They Are Episode 135: Stage One: The Early Years - What They Need Episode 142: Stage T...

We have both had the honor of being interviewed by the kind and hilarious Cynthia Yanof several times for her podcast and, this week, get to turn the tables on her. She has a new book out called Life is Messy, God is Good. We couldn’t agree more! We’re excited for you to listen in on this real, heartfelt and hopeful conversation with our friend Cynthia. . . . . . Discussion Guides to download for...

Today we move to STAGE 4, in our ages and stages series! We’re moving out of the harder news in terms of a girl’s development and smack in the middle of the harder news in a boy’s. This week, we’re talking about who they are in these high school years. In case you missed Stage One through Three, the episodes are linked below. Episode 133: Stage One: The Early Years - Who They Are Episode 135: Stag...

How many of you have been a part of an IF:Gathering over the years? We have long admired the difference our new friend, Jennie Allen, is making in the world in so many spaces—books, podcasts, events and more--and were thrilled to get to have a conversation with her. We’re talking about Raising Teenagers and Young Adults. And, so if you have one, or are on your way to having one soon or…who are we...

We talk so often about how concerned we are about the division in our world today. Division, intolerance, conflict, a lack of civility and sometimes even just a lack of awareness. We love getting to have a podcast for many reasons, but maybe at the top is that we get to learn from voices we respect and trust. Shanera Williamson is one of those voices. In this episode of the podcast, she’s helping...

We recently got to sit down with one of our favorite people, Jamee Thompson. Jamee is a dear friend of all three of ours, a Daystar Counseling board member, and mom to four wonderful kiddos. She is also exceedingly kind and deeply thoughtful—which is likely why she talked so much about the importance of listening to and learning from the kids we love. We can’t wait for you to listen in on our newe...

Last spring when Daystar Counseling stepped in to support our dear Covenant School community, a fellow therapist from Connecticut reached out to see what she could do to support us. Since that time, Niro Feliciano has become a deeply valued friend to us both. We are THRILLED to introduce her to you on the podcast—if you haven’t already discovered her from her fantastic book, This Book Won’t Make Y...

As we continue to work our way through the ages and stages, we are heading into the bumpier territory of the teen years. Our friend, Kristen Hatton has released a great book called Parenting Ahead: Preparing Now for the Teen Years. Kristen helps parents of young children lay the groundwork so that having honest conversations, setting reasonable limits, and exploring issues of the heart becomes a p...

It is one of our very favorite things to get to talk with folks in our field who we admire greatly, only to find out we also REALLY like them. Dr. Lisa Damour was one of those people. We loved every second of our conversation with her and are confident you will, too. Dr. Damour is a three-time NYT bestselling author with her books Untangled, Under Pressure and her newest, The Emotional Lives of Te...

What do middle schoolers need? It’s sometimes hard to know. But in this episode we talk about boys and girls and what we can do to help them have a little more awareness, confidence and kindness in these important (and often tumultuous) years! . . . . . In case you missed Stage One and Stage Two, the episodes are linked below. Episode 133: Stage One: The Early Years - Who They Are Episode 135: Sta...

Not many of us have the bandwidth to keep up with technology for ourselves, let alone to safeguard the kids we love. Screens are one of the areas we need trusted, like-minded and like-hearted guides to keep us up to date and aware of what we need to do to protect our kids. Joey Odom has become one of those guides for us. Joey and Heath are the founders of a brilliant box called Aro, to help us con...

In this week’s episode, we dive into the beginnings of adolescence. As we know, girls have often surged ahead in their maturity, physically and emotionally. Which, in this stage, means not-so-great news. But, the sooner we see girls move into their teenage angsty-ness, the sooner they move out of it. For girls, we’ll call these years the narcissistic years…because, IYKYK. For boys, we’ll call him...

This week is the last of our Raising Boys and Girls Live Podcast Tour episodes and we are going out with a BANG with two of our favorite people in the world… Annie and Dave Barnes!  You likely know Dave from the phenomenal Dadville podcast he hosts with our friend Jon McGlaughlin OR from his beloved music OR from his antics on Instagram. (If you don’t, go follow and download and all the things now...

Over this past year, we have had the delight of getting to know the delightful Toni Collier. Toni is a mom, author, speaker, and the founder of an international women’s ministry called Broken Crayons Still Color, which also happens to be the name of her newest book!  We know you will enjoy Toni just as much as we do…get ready to laugh, learn and lean in to this important conversation about parenti...

It has been so fun sharing with you conversation from our friends who joined us on the Raising Boys and Girls Live Podcast tour. And those of you who got to come to Atlanta had the grace of getting to hear from two of our favorite people on the planet, Katherine & Jay Wolf from Hope Heals! They made us laugh and get so teary during our time together—as they always do. If you’re not following them...

Have you ever been to a Behold the Lamb of God show? If not, PUT IT AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST FOR NEXT YEAR or see if there are any stray tickets for a show near you this season. You likely know Andrew Peterson from his own poignant, beautiful lyrics and melodies. Or maybe from his Wingfeather Saga series or books for kids. Or, maybe his books for grown-ups, Adorning the Dark and The God of the Gard...

Y’all. To be honest, we really hope you can hear us say any words in this podcast episode—because mostly we were CRACKING UP at our hilarious and wise friends Sophie Hudson and Melanie Shankle. We were thrilled they would join us on the Raising Boys and Girls live podcast—knowing we wouldn’t have to say much, because they are all of the entertainment and wisdom any of us need! We can’t wait for yo...

How many of you have read any of the Every Moment Holy books? They are some of our VERY favorites and we recently got to sit down with Douglas McKelvey, the author of these books to discuss the importance of practicing the presence of God as a family. We can’t wait for you to listen in. Douglas is every bit as rich and deep as these books. They’re also a GREAT Christmas gift—so go get one—or lots—...

We are THRILLED to be sharing with you some FUN we had with our friend, the Queen of all things fun (who also happens to be brilliant, wise, thoughtful and lots more), Annie F Downs!!! We recorded this episode LIVE in August on our Raising Boys and Girls tour and thought you might enjoy listening in on this conversation around the ages and stages in Annie’s life, as well as the most important thin...

It feels like the perfect podcast episode to release the week after Thanksgiving for us because we could not be any more grateful for these two friends. Heather and Luke Flener are the parents of two amazing girls and two of the most thoughtful, wise, grace-filled people we know. They’re the kind of people that make the world feel a little better when they’re around. Plus, they’re a blast to hang...

This season can be one of the toughest when it comes to entitlement and kids. We are ALWAYS so deeply grateful for the voice of our friend Rachel Cruze, but we’re especially grateful for not only the truth that she shares on this week’s podcast, BUT THE FACT THAT SHE’S WRITTEN A CHILDREN’S BOOK TO HELP INSTILL GRATITUDE IN KIDS!!!! Grab a copy of the book, I'm Glad for What I Have, TODAY to read w...